"Happy" Jack Chesbro of the New York Highlanders became immortalized for a couple of reasons this year. First, he won 41 games, the most by any pitcher this century. But on the last day of the season, his team had a chance to sweep Boston in a double-header and win the pennant. Instead, Chesbro threw a wild pitch that allowed the winning run to score.

        Well, it wasn't that big a deal. I doubt that anyone ever gives a second thought about Chesbro's wild pitch except for those who were there, and there aren't too many of them left. Boston never got a chance to defend the World Series title they had won the year before, because the New York Giants refused to play. The two leagues were still at war with one another, and John McGraw considered Boston to be unworthy competition, though it's more likely that he was afraid of getting his butt kicked by the defending champions.
        Not only has Chesbro's wild pitch been mostly forgotten, so have his 41 wins. And not without reason; though Chesbro had a legitimately great season, his win total was not especially significant for the times; lots of pitcher were still winning 30 games in a season, and Ed Walsh would win 40 games four years later. In the context of the era, Denny McLain's 31 wins in 1968 is much more significant than Chesbro's 41 this year. Not that Chesbro is complaining; his record and his wild pitch helped get him in the Hall of Fame, though there are many other pitchers from the era who are more qualified.
        Another record was set this year, and arguably it is a more interesting one. Rube Waddell struck out 349 batters; it was the most by any pitcher since the days of the old American Association in the 1880's, and would not be topped until 1965, when Sandy Koufax had 382. Waddell's strikeout rate was also outstanding, and would not be topped by any pitcher until Hal Newhouser in 1946. Waddell was the original "flaky lefty", a man who was built like a horse and had a great curveball, but who was almost certainly mentally handicapped.
        After Chesbro and Waddell, the best pitcher in the league was the dependable Cy Young, who led Boston to the pennant. Also outstanding was another great lefthander with Philadelphia, Eddie Plank, who wasn't the power pitcher that Waddell was, but who would last long enough to win more than 300 wins in his career.